Does any bantaba reader know the names of any of the persons on the "prison visiting Committee of the Central prison " and whether said committee "is active" ? The matter of incarceration of people in prison is a subject that should be aired in public as unfortunatly prisons in The Gambia have gained an international reputation as being not very wholesome places to spend ones free time.
This topic does have a sort of link with politics I suppose,but everyone is quite happy knocking the UDP at the moment so probably will not get many reads,even if it does,if I were a betting man I would bet that no committe members names are posted on bantaba.
THE PRESIDENT, THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR AND THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SHOULD ACT DOESN’T THE CENTRAL PRISON NEED DE-CONGESTING? By Publisher on 18-06-10 (87 reads) News by the same author Prisons have prison visiting committees to serve as oversight in monitoring the welfare of prisoners. The Ministry of Interior is responsible for exercising direction and control over the Conditions in prison. It is important for the Ministry to examine whether the prison visiting Committee of the Central prison is active and whether they have any report on the number of prisoners in the cells and whether they have enough air to prevent Tuberculosis and other communicable deceases. It should be borne in mind that there is a volume of air that is needed to prevent people from suffocating or having respiratory track infections. The Ministry should take the initiative to find out how many prisoners have died during the past two years and the cause of death. The National Assembly also has the power to become involved. It has powers to invite the Minister of Interior and members of the Prison visiting Committee for a discussion on the number of prisoners at the Central Prison and the space available to those incarcerated.
The mere isolation of a person behind bars for months and years is sufficient punishment. This punishment should be followed by the provision of accommodation and nutrition fit for human survival.
Finally the president who has powers to exercise prerogative of mercy could help a lot in decongesting the prisons by giving pardon to those who could pose no further threat to society. It is also important for every death in prison to go through a coroner’s inquest to confirm the cause of the death. This is the way to draw lessons on what improvements to make to create more humane conditions for people who are already punished by being sentenced to imprisonment.
We hope that the authorities would act swiftly to prevent any negative outcome of being detained in a congested environment.
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
Topic Locked
Posted - 19 Jun 2010 : 11:35:35
